Aguerre guides Alegria past Lechuza Caracas

Aguerre guided Alegria to a 14-10 victory over Lechuza Caracas in the 26-goal C.V. Whitney Cup at International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday.

It was Alegria's first major victory in the United States.

"It's a great win," said Aguerre, who has won nine Argentine Open titles, including the 2012 title and was raised back to 10 goals in Argentina for the 2013 season. "This is the first gem of the [U.S.] Triple Crown and one of the most important seasons in the world. We've very proud. We've been getting ready for this for a year now, training, trying to do everything as professional as we can and it's good to see that pays off."

Alegria patron Julian Mannix is studying business management at Florida Atlantic University and scored his team's game-winning shot in the semifinals.

"Everyone's happy for what we all achieved," said the 21-year-old Mannix, who is from Calgary, Canada. "It's not just four guys playing, it's a whole team effort. Everyone in the barns, everyone pulling for us. It's a lot of people's work that goes into a win like this."

The triumph has put Alegria on the short list as a contender for the upcoming USPA Piaget Gold Cup and Maserati U.S. Open.

"We're strong everywhere," said the 43-year-old Aguerre after winning his sixth C.V. Whitney title. "We're strong in the middle of the field with Hilario [Ulloa] and Facundo [Obregon]. We have youth, we have experience. We're well-mounted throughout the game. We're comfortable with each other."

Alegria scored three consecutive goals in the final 2:44 of the fifth chukker, two by Ulloa, to take a 12-8 lead going into the final period.

Obregon, 23, scored a game-high eight goals, all on penalty shots, and was named MVP. Ulloa, 27, scored three goals and Aguerre finished with two goals for Alegria. Polito Pieres led Lechuza Caracas with four goals and patron Victor Vargas added three goals.

Nations Cup: Olympic riders Reed Kessler, Laura Kraut and Beezie Madden, along with steady Kent Farrington, led Team USA to its second Nations Cup victory in the past three years at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington on Friday night.

The U.S. team finished with four faults over the two rounds, while Canada had five faults and Germany had nine faults.